While behind the scenes (BTS) films have been around for some time, with the first known created by Warner Bros in the 1930s, their prominence and value has increased exponentially in recent years, fueled by the rise of streaming services and their voracious appetite for content. BTS has become so popular that it is now considered a necessity for any level of film.
Australian filmmaker Anthony Rose has been behind the lens shooting BTS on some of the biggest action films of recent years, including Marvel Studio’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Mad Max:Furiosa. He has worked with A list actors and directors including Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and George Miller.
In the days of DVDs and Blu Rays, BTS content was used as bonus features to drive value for consumers and was mostly focused on outtakes in credit sequences or as part of the film’s promotional roadshow. Now, BTS is being made into feature length documentaries watched by millions for a better understanding of the filmmaking process or to get to know the actors who play their favorite characters.
Rose explained: “My start in BTS films came from one of my fashion clients who had been to college with someone from Marvel, and they needed someone to do behind the scenes. That film was about 110 days on set, and I was there every day. It’s something I’d never really done, but it was fantastic and I absolutely fell in love with it.”
“When I started working on a Marvel film, Shang-Chi, I said I’m going to make you a feature length documentary, whether you like it or not. Not long after that, Disney Plus started a streaming channel called Assembled that has all the behind the scenes of Marvel films. So suddenly this ‘nice to have’ content with a niche audience has serious value for them. Now with every Marvel film that gets made, they’ll have an hour long documentary or so, plus other assets that they can use.”
Rose uses a number of Blackmagic Design cameras, including various Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and more recently Blackmagic PYXIS 6K. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 has become one of his most valuable tools and allows him to be in the right place at the right time, without getting in the way.
Rose said: “I’m forever pre focusing, pre exposing and getting ready to shoot. Because if I’ve got to just switch that camera on and roll, I want to make sure I’m correctly exposed. You’ve always got to be on.”
“The thing I like about this camera, the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K, is I switch it on, and by the time I’ve got it up to my eye, it’s ready to roll. It doesn’t have those extra few seconds to power up that can be critical to get the start of the story. Nothing beats it for how quick it is to format a card and how quick it is to power up and be ready to roll. This camera has been such a workhorse through the heat, dust, and soaking wet. Its just been incredible.”
For those looking to break into the BTS industry, Anthony has advice for aspiring filmmakers: “When you’re doing behind the scenes, you’ve got to be a small form factor. You want to be able to tuck in somewhere. If I’ve got a big camera on my shoulder, I’m in people’s way and get kicked off set. You’ve got to inject yourself into situations because sometimes if you have to ask for permission, people will go, look, can you just stand back, you know, can you not be here? So you’ve got to have them feel that you’ve got a valid reason for being there.”
“Even with all the right gear, you’re occasionally going to get yelled at. I’ve been kicked off set really only by one very, very famous actor who was knighted by the Queen. And when you get told off by a knight of the realm, that’s really something special. But you’ve got to take it and then come back the next day with renewed enthusiasm.”
Rose noted the importance of streamlining the editing and post production process in BTS content and how he uses a Blackmagic Design workflow through both production and post that includes DaVinci Resolve.
“The ability to record onto SSD drives on the cameras is a critical advantage. It means we can do very long interviews and never have to cut, which is necessary because the time of talent is valuable. You don’t want to tell Chris Hemsworth, oh, can we just stop there and reload the camera? We’ll put a two terabyte SSD drive into our cameras so that I can say to the director that we’re good to just record for as long as needed.”
“I do a lot of post production myself and recommend that route to aspiring filmmakers too. I’ve got an edit suite in my house, but you can get a surprising amount done with just the right software. I’ve edited everything from documentaries to fashion shoots and a lot of commercials, all in DaVinci Resolve and I’m a big advocate for that, because combined with a Blackmagic camera it’s one seamless ecosystem. The Fairlight audio features in particular have been fantastic. In BTS content, its common to have issues on set, whether it’s a lot of noise from a nearby conversation or a truck reversing and I can take it out using the voice isolation AI tool.”
“I absolutely love DaVinci Resolve, it’s both free and I love that they’re updating the software all the time. It’s just been a game changer for me, and I know it has for other industry professionals too. The only downside is I’m often doing tutorials just to catch up with the new features!”
